Epidemiology of Trauma in Children Under 5 Years Old Admitted to Imam Reza Hospital during 2021-22

Trauma is one of the most important preventable causes of child mortality and morbidity around the world and in Iran. Given the vulnerability of children, knowledge of epidemiological information regarding trauma in this age group helps to carefully plan for preventing these events. Therefore, this study was performed to evaluate the epidemiology of trauma in children under 5 years of age referring to the emergency department of Imam Reza Hospital in Birjand.

This descriptive epidemiological study was performed on 415 children under 5 years old, who referred to the emergency department of Imam Reza Hospital in Birjand from March 2021 to March 2022 due to trauma. Using a checklist, the patients’ demographic information including: age, sex, number of children in the family, parents’ education level, parents' marital status, mother's job, mother's age, the presence of a disabled person in the family, and Type of home (apartment, house), as well as the cause, time, and place of the trauma, the pattern of trauma, and the anatomical site of the trauma were gathered in an interview with the child. Finally, the outcome of trauma at the time of patient’s discharge was evaluated and then, SPSS Software version 20 was used to perform descriptive analysis on the obtained data.

Data of 415 children were gathered. 249 cases (60%) were boys, 164 cases (39.5%) were at the age of 5 years, 332 (80%) had siblings, 220 (53%) were injured between 4 pm and midnight, in 223 cases (53.7%) trauma had occurred at home, 238 (57.3%) traumas were due to falling, 364 cases (87.7%) had blunt traumas, 186 cases (44.8%) had sustained head and face injuries. Parents of 394 cases (94.9%) were still married, 132 mothers (31.8%) and 128 fathers (30.8%) had education higher than high school diploma, 361 mothers (78%) were housewives, and 242 mothers (58.3%) were more than 35 years old. In 404 families (97.3%), there was no disabled person and 241 cases (58.1%) lived in houses that had a yard. 344 cases (82.9%) were discharged from the hospital with complete recovery.

Since the traumas had most commonly taken place at home and due to falling, dangers for children can be prevented by safeguarding houses and improving the awareness of parents.